Anton Geesink died in 2010. He was really respected in Japan. Of course it was for winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. But Japanese people also remembered the class he showed waving his cheering team mates back so he could bow formally to his opponent. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010...esink-obituary

Thanks for that background on those great old strength athletes, Joe. I agree Chiyonofuji was a great yokozuna - the best sumo wrestler I ever saw. That wikipedia article mentions his last tournament. He lost to a young rising star Takahanada who also became a great yokozuna after that. Half of Japan was watching that fight. It was a clear changing of the guard.

Last edited by niall : 05-20-2011 at 09:36 PM.

we can make our minds so like still water, and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life
w b yeats